1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a medical payload carrying capsule with wireless communication which can be swallowed for diagnostics, treatment, internal viewing and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices which are implantable or ingestible in the human body are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,338 discloses an implantable device with a passive integrated transponder which can be used for tracking the location of an animal or human into which it is implanted.
Various ingestible devices include miniature cameras for providing imaging of the interior of the stomach or colon to detect bleeding, polyps, and other conditions. Such devices provide an alternative to more invasive techniques such as colonoscopy or endoscopy.
What is needed is an ingestible device which can be wirelessly tracked and remotely controlled, and which can perform various medical functions to aid in the diagnosis, treatment, and/or imaging of the interior of a human or animal body.